Pataki's casino plan is under the legislature scrutiny
27 February 2005
The proposal for additional number of Indian casinos, by Gov. George Pataki identifies the following issues: the number of authorized Catskill Mountain casinos should be increased from three to five; the land-claim lawsuits with five tribes should be settled down allowing each of them to have ownership on one casino; there should be annual money witing counted in millions of dollars to all the counties mentioned in the proposal. The state will be eligible for 20-25 percent of slot-machine casino profits.
The governor promised to endow Catskills with steady employment opportunities; the state with much needed cash and American Indian land-claim lawsuits in six counties. The legislative body is set to chew on Pataki's proposal this week, scrutinizing every possible aspect of it, considering the turmoil of counterclaims and high-priced lobbying surrounding it. Some of the legislators are skeptical since in the past lots of compacts with tribes have collapsed.
The tribes are not united in their support for the casino plan, as some polled against it. The casino gambling opponents expressed their fear since approval of the gambling expansion as a means of financial recuperation might be a forgone one, without a real chance of disputing it on the hearing.
The home of all proposed casino site, the Sullivan County Legislature is backing the deal, but the plan will not advance without the Congress approval, which may have few setbacks on the way.
Source: Online Casinos News Staff
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